


To All Appearances

by darylarry



Category: Original Work
Genre: Bullying, Closeted Character, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 03:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14887053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darylarry/pseuds/darylarry
Summary: He couldn't come out of the closet, not yet.





	To All Appearances

**Author's Note:**

> in English class we were assigned to write a story based on a simple, single picture and I quite like how it turned out so I thought why not share it with other people. 
> 
> this is the picture: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fb%2Fcheat-love-triangle-girl-hugging-guy-holding-hands-another-girl-sitting-together-bench-74114653.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dreamstime.com%2Fstock-photo-cheat-love-triangle-girl-hugging-guy-holding-hands-another-girl-sitting-together-bench-image74114653&docid=B7GxQnfhzBAMAM&tbnid=xnMSnu0hmW-hoM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwii8bSl48bbAhVLCMAKHfXSBykQMwhRKAcwBw..i&w=800&h=533&client=safari&bih=1019&biw=1920&q=three%20people%20on%20a%20bench%20cheating&ved=0ahUKEwii8bSl48bbAhVLCMAKHfXSBykQMwhRKAcwBw&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=533&imgdii=xnMSnu0hmW-hoM:&vet=10ahUKEwii8bSl48bbAhVLCMAKHfXSBykQMwhRKAcwBw..i&w=800

Connor had always known that he was different. 

He was a small and sensitive baby that couldn’t handle noise and started crying when he witnessed his parents argue. Thick tension filling up the air, making the little boy anxious without even understanding what was going on. 

As a child he was skinny and shy, often stumbling over his words while speaking and choosing them carefully in an attempt to never hurt anyone unintentionally. So the first time his classmates picked on him, Connor ,of course, didn’t say anything to defend himself.

"Huh, you’re not gonna say anything? Cat got your tongue?"

He just stood there quietly, tears already forming in his big, green eyes. 

"Look, and now he’s crying! Hahaha, such a wuss!"

He didn’t- he couldn’t say anything. He just stood there with his head down, fingers tightly gripping the hem of his shirt. Humiliation tinted his cheeks pink and confusion occupied his mind as he desperately tried to grasp what was happening.

He didn’t understand. 

Why would anyone want to hurt somebody on purpose? His mother always said to be kind and compassionate. "At all times you should treat others the way you want to be treated."

He wanted people to be nice to him so he was nice to them. Moreover, picking up the dropped belongings of an old man and helping him across the street filled his stomach with a warm and content feeling. Being nice to other people made him happy.

But, why were his classmates so mean? Why do people hurt others when you can be kind and even get a pleasant feeling out of it?

What do you get out of being mean?

Soon Connor learned that everyone’s opinions and values differed and just because he showed people kindness didn’t mean it would be shown to him in return.

The teasing began in kindergarten and accompanied him through Elementary and Middle School. At first people just made fun of the way he spoke, quietly and eloquently. He told himself if he just ignored them they would eventually get bored and find someone else to pick on.

But instead of finding another victim, they just found more things about Connor to tease him for. For example, the way he walked, the way he did his homework diligently, the way he dressed in bright colours such as yellow, pink and light blue.

"Ew are those pink shorts?" One of the boys had said. "Pink is for girls! You a tranny?"

He never wore those shorts again.

At first the cruel behavior made him sick to his stomach and he couldn’t bear going to school every day, scared. Afraid his classmates might pick up on more of his perks.

When he graduated from Middle School and entered High School, he told himself it was all going to change for the better. He was going to dress and behave like a normal boy his age, even if he didn’t want to. He was going to make friends and most importantly, he’d do everything to prevent getting bullied again. 

Unfortunately, all of his hopes were crushed when at the age of 15 he realized he had a crush. Which was normal for boys his age, but out of all people his crush was the captain of the football team who was in fact, male. 

He had never been particularly interested in sports but the school’s stadium had a beautiful view and it was a nice place to study. After being cooped up for hours in a small classroom with 25 other people Connor felt he needed some fresh oxygen.

One time, he would watch the football team play and there was this one guy that caught his eye. Since then he had always unconsciously been looking for him in the hallways and on the schoolyard. It took him quite some time to realize what he felt wasn’t admiration or envy, it was affection.

He liked him.

He like-liked him. He liked him in a way that made him want to hold his hand, hug him and make him laugh. It made him want to kiss his lips and do all kinds of inappropriate things he wouldn't dare voice. 

And that could never get out.

He would never risk getting bullied again. He was not going back to being miserable, to crying himself to sleep every night for the past decade. 

So the lanky teenager did what he did best; he remained silent. 

He didn’t speak to his crush, tried not to look at him, he didn’t even dare thinking about confessing his feelings.

If people found out he was gay, Connor was done for. He might as welll just quit his school career and live under a rock, hoping no one would ever find him pathetically sobbing and wondering why it was that the universe hated him so much. 

His best friend Harriet assured him everything would be fine and he was just being over-dramatic.

But he wasn’t being over-dramatic, he was just scared shitless. The mere thought of once again being beaten up, spat upon and excluded made his skin crawl and stomach churn with anxiety.

He was not going back to being bullied and for that, he was willing to do whatever it took.

"Y’know, if it bothers you that much I could just pretend to be your girlfriend, so no one would suspect you being about as straight as a circle."

Connor’s eyes blew wide open, staring right at Harriet, disbelieving. 

"That's it!" He exclaimed.

His best friend was a genius.

"But wait, what about Aaron?" He asked, suddenly aware of the existence of her very jealous boyfriend. 

She laughed, punching my shoulder lightly. "Don’t worry about him. He knows you’re not into girls. We’ll just tell everyone that after realizing you and I have always been in love I broke up with Aaron. As soon as you make up your mind and finally out yourself I’ll get back together with him.

I won’t break up with him for real, of course."

And that’s how he found himself on a bench, sitting next to Aaron and Harriet, an arm slung around his fake girlfriend’s shoulder while she was holding the hand of her actual boyfriend behind his back. 

Little did the three of them know someone was standing behind them, taking a picture and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.


End file.
